Adjuvants have the potential to determine or at least influence the success or failure of vaccine compositions. Additionally, adjuvants often determine or augment the administration method of a given antigen. All routes of vaccine administration could benefit from enhanced efficacy and controlled formulation including the ability to use less antigen and still receive the same or better immunogenic response in the animal. Transdermal administration has several advantages compared with other routes of administration due to the ease of administration and a lower amount of stress placed on a recipient. Transdermal administration is advantageous for animals, including pigs, due to the ability of the farmer to easily administer a vaccine to a large group of animals with minimal stress on the animal and the farmer. Needleless administration methods or ways to inoculate other than with the use of needles have become one option for successful administration of large groups of animals without causing undue stress on the animals. This route of administration is also more humane. Transdermal administration is also advantageous for children and the elderly who are routinely resistant to other modes of administration of vaccines. Methods for transdermal administration are becoming more available; however, adjuvants suitable for such administration are not widely available. Further, adjuvant compositions incorporating lecithin are common and these adjuvants are not always suitable for all possible routes of administration and for certain types of antigens when used in different species, including pigs. As with other administration routes, transdermal administration could benefit from enhanced efficacy and controlled formulation as described above. Additionally, all routes of administration including transdermal and injectable vaccines (intravenous (IV), intraperitoneal (IP), intramuscular (IM), and subcutaneous (SC) routes) could all benefit from improved onset to immunity and duration of immunity as well as controlled formulation. What is needed in the art are adjuvant compositions that can be formulated to suit the antigen and route of administration and particularly to those routes of administration that are not as commonly used due to efficacy, such as transdermal. Adjuvant compositions suited for animals that can utilize formulations with components other than lecithin are also needed in the art. Finally, compositions with improved capability such as onset and duration of immunity that do not incorporate lecithin are also needed in the art.